(Image Credit: BC Government)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

COVID-19 BC UPDATE

“We have more work to do”: B.C health officials reporting 71 new virus cases in the province

Apr 22, 2020 | 3:52 PM

VICTORIA — B.C. health officials are reporting 71 new cases of COVID-19 in British Columbia today (Apr. 22), bringing the provincial count to 1,795 total cases.

In an update, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say there were three additional deaths in the last 24 hours. In total, 90 people have now died in B.C. due to COVID-19.

The amount of cases within the Interior Health Authority remained stagnant again today, with 153 total cases confirmed in the region.

Dr. Henry states there are 745 cases within Vancouver Coastal Health, 747 in Fraser Health, 110 on Vancouver Island, and 40 cases have been identified in the Northern Health Region.

103 people in the province are currently hospitalized with the virus, and 46 of those individuals are being treated in intensive or critical care units.

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20 long term care facility outbreaks are ongoing, with three new outbreaks to report in the Fraser Health Authority today. Dr. Henry notes that four of the outbreaks that were active in Fraser Health have been declared over.

77 cases have also associated with the outbreak at the Mission Federal Correctional Facility, with 5 inmates in hospital. Additionally, 28 cases are currently associated with a poultry processing plant in east Vancouver. (Vancouver Coastal Health has stated that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has determined a recall of chicken products from the plant is not required.)

While 1,079 people are now considered fully recovered from the virus, Dr. Henry says the new case amounts mean prevention work is far from over.

“This tells us that we have more work to do to break the chains of transmission in our communities, and to make sure that every individual, that every business, every community, every family does what we need to do to break these chains,” she says, “And that’s everyone – all the time.”

Dr. Henry stresses that to be able to move forward with lifting restrictions, substantial progress has to be made in flattening the curve.

“We know people are tired of staying apart from their loved ones. We know we are tired of not being able to do the social connections, and events that we are used to doing,” she says, “But to ease restrictions, we need to have a decline in both the number of new cases, and the number of outbreaks.”

Right now, Minister Dix says it’s crucial that people stay home from work if they feel ill in the slightest.

“This is going to be part of the new reality during this period of time in the pandemic. Sometimes I think there’s a sense that it’s the brave thing to do, or the courageous thing to do- to play hurt or to work sick. Well that can no longer be the case. And that is the responsibility of both employers, and employees.”

To access more information from the BC Centre for Disease Control, click here.